U.S. patent application number 15/133412 was filed with the patent office on 2016-10-27 for decoy motion attachment device.
The applicant listed for this patent is Kevin Rhett Young. Invention is credited to Kevin Rhett Young.
Application Number | 20160309704 15/133412 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 57146606 |
Filed Date | 2016-10-27 |
United States Patent
Application |
20160309704 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Young; Kevin Rhett |
October 27, 2016 |
DECOY MOTION ATTACHMENT DEVICE
Abstract
A motion attachment device (11) is disclosed for use with a
decoy (10) having a keel (21). The motion attachment device
includes a housing (25) with a slot (26) which is configured to
releasably receive the keel. The device also includes a pair of
actuators (22) removably mounted to opposite sides of the housing.
Each actuator includes a casing (23), a top motor (28') for driving
the movement of wings (36) and a bottom motor (28'') for driving
the movement of the feet (35), and a battery (29) for powering the
motors. The actuators are self contained and are removably mounted
to the housing through a hand driven threaded bolt (40) extending
through a bolt hole (41) in the casing. The bolt is threaded into a
corresponding internally threaded bolt hole (42) in the
housing.
Inventors: |
Young; Kevin Rhett;
(Brandon, MS) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Young; Kevin Rhett |
Brandon |
MS |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
57146606 |
Appl. No.: |
15/133412 |
Filed: |
April 20, 2016 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
62151178 |
Apr 22, 2015 |
|
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A01M 31/06 20130101 |
International
Class: |
A01M 31/06 20060101
A01M031/06 |
Claims
1. A decoy motion attachment device for use with a separate animal
decoy comprising, a housing separate and apart from an animal decoy
and removably mountable to the animal decoy; at least one motor
coupled to said housing; at least one animal appendage coupled to
said at least one motor for motorized movement of said animal
appendage, and a battery electrically coupled to said at least one
motor, whereby the decoy motion attachment device may be mounted
and dismounted from the animal decoy and wherein the at least one
motor provides motion to the at least one animal appendage.
2. The decoy motion attachment device of claim 1 further comprising
a casing removably coupled to said housing, said casing containing
said at least one motor and said battery.
3. The decoy motion attachment device of claim 2 wherein said at
least one animal appendage is a wing coupled to said casing.
4. The decoy motion attachment device of claim 3 further comprising
linkage coupling said wing to said at least one motor, said linkage
including an elongated rod having a ball point coupled to said
wing.
5. The decoy motion attachment device of claim 2 wherein said at
least one animal appendage is a foot coupled to said at least one
motor.
6. The decoy motion attachment device of claim 5 wherein said foot
includes two oppositely disposed ends.
7. The decoy motion attachment device of claim 1 wherein said ast
least one animal appendage includes two wings and two feet, and
wherein said at least one motor includes two wing controlling
motors coupled to said two wings and two foot controlling motors
coupled to said two feet.
8. The decoy motion attachment device of claim 1 further comprising
coupling means for releasably coupling said housing to said
decoy.
9. The decoy motion attachment device of claim 8 wherein said
coupling means is a clamp sized and shaped to hold a keel of an
animal decoy.
10. A decoy motion attachment device for use with an animal decoy
comprising, a housing removably mounted to the animal decoy; a pair
of actuators removably mounted to said housing, each said actuator
having a first motor, a first animal appendage coupled to said
first motor, and a battery electrically coupled to said first
motor, whereby the decoy may be mounted and dismounted from the
animal decoy and wherein the first motor provides motion to the
first animal appendage.
11. The decoy motion attachment device of claim 10 wherein said
first animal appendage is a wing coupled to said actuator.
12. The decoy motion attachment device of claim 11 further
comprising linkage coupling said wing to said first motor, said
linkage including an elongated rod having a ball point coupled to
said wing.
13. The decoy motion attachment device of claim 10 wherein said
first animal appendage is a foot coupled to said first one
motor.
14. The decoy motion attachment device of claim 13 wherein said
foot includes two oppositely disposed ends.
15. The decoy motion attachment device of claim 10 wherein each
said actuator further includes a second motor and a second animal
appendage coupled to said second motor, said second motor being
coupled to said battery of said actuator.
16. The decoy motion attachment device of claim 10 further
comprising coupling means for releasably coupling said housing to
said decoy.
17. The decoy motion attachment device of claim 16 wherein said
coupling means is a clamp sized and shaped to hold the keel of an
animal decoy.
18. A combination decoy and decoy motion attachment device
comprising, a decoy having a body and an elongated keel extending
from said body, and a decoy motion attachment device having a
housing removably mounted to the decoy keel, a pair of first motors
coupled to said housing, a pair of first animal appendages coupled
to said pair of first motors, and at least one battery electrically
coupled to said pair of first motors, whereby the housing may be
mounted and dismounted from the animal decoy and wherein the first
motor provides motion to the first animal appendage.
19. The combination decoy and decoy motion attachment device of
claim 18 further comprising a pair of second motors coupled to said
housing and a pair of second animal appendages coupled to said pair
of second motors.
20. The combination decoy and decoy motion attachment device of
claim 18 wherein each first motor of said pair of first motors and
each first animal appendage of said pair of first animal appendages
is coupled to one casing of a pair of casings, and wherein each
casing of said pair of casings is removably coupled to said
housing.
Description
REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] Applicant claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent
Application Ser. No. 62/151,178 filed Apr. 22, 2015.
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0002] This invention relates generally to a animal decoys, and
more specifically to a device used in conjunction with an animal
decoy to provide a more realistic appearance.
BACKGROUND OF INVENTION
[0003] Animal decoys have been used by people for thousands of
years. These decoys may be utilized to attract game as well as
repel game from a select area. One of the most popular types of
animal decoys is the water fowl decoy, which may be in the form of
different varieties of ducks or geese.
[0004] Water fowl decoys have typically been made of solid wood
which is shaped in the form of the fowl and painted to resemble the
fowl's markings. More recently water fowl decoys have been made of
a hollow unitary plastic form which is colored or painted to
resemble the fowl's markings.
[0005] One problem with today's decoys is that most are static in
that they do not move. As such, the decoy may not properly resemble
a flock of water fowl in an accurate manner. Because of this
problem, some decoys have been specially designed to include
motorized propulsion or motorized wings. These decoys are more
costly to purchase and therefore most hunters do not wish to
purchase a "flock" of such decoys, especially if they already own
several static decoys.
[0006] Accordingly, it is seen that a need remains for a decoy
device that may easily change a static decoy to a more realistic
moving decoy. It is to the provision of such therefore that the
present invention is primarily directed.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] A decoy motion attachment device for use with a separate
animal decoy comprises a housing removably mounted to the animal
decoy, at least one motor coupled to the housing, at least one
animal appendage coupled to the at least one motor for motorized
movement of the animal appendage, and a battery electrically
coupled to the at least one motor. With this construction, the
decoy motion attachment device may be mounted and dismounted from
the animal decoy and at least one motor provides motion to the at
least one animal appendage.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0008] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the decoy motion attachment
device shown with a duck decoy.
[0009] FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the decoy motion attachment
device of FIG. 1.
[0010] FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the actuator of the decoy
motion attachment device of FIG. 1.
[0011] FIG. 4 is an exploded, perspective view of the wing portion
of the decoy motion attachment device of FIG. 1.
[0012] FIG. 5 is a bottom view of the decoy motion attachment
device showing the clamping device in an alternative form.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0013] With reference next to the drawings, there is shown an
animal decoy 10 and a motion attachment device 11 in a preferred
form of the present invention. The animal decoy 10 is shown in the
form of a duck, however, it should be understood that other animals
may be replicated or depicted.
[0014] The decoy 10 includes a base 11 made of a plastic material
or the like and is of a hollow construction or of wooden
construction. The base 11 includes a body 19 and a head 20
extending from the top portion of the body 19. The decoy 10 also
includes an elongated weighted keel 21 extending from the bottom
side of the body 19 which maintains the decoy in a generally
upright orientation when afloat.
[0015] The motion attachment device 11 is designed to be removably
coupled to the keel 21 of the decoy and maintain the buoyancy of
the decoy. The motion attachment device 11 includes a housing 25
which is preferably made of a plastic material. The housing 25
includes an elongated longitudinal slot 26 which is configured to
releasably receive the keel 21 lin order to mount the motion
attachment device 11 to the decoy 10. A clamping device 27 is
positioned adjacent the slot 26 to clamp down upon and capture the
keel and thereby couple the device 11 to the decoy 10. The clamping
device 27 may be in the form of elongated member or members which
extend parallel to and along one side or opposite sides of the
keel, and which clamp down upon the keep, or in the form of a
single moveable clamp Which captures one end of the keel and forces
the keel against the closed opposite end of the slot 26 which may
be include a rubber or resilient material to provide a snug fit, as
shown in FIG. 5. Of course, other means of mounting the attachment
device to the decoy, and especially the keel, may be utilized such
as an adjustable capturing device which fits on opposite ends of
the keel, elastic mounting devices, threaded set screw type
devices, elastic members, set screws, and the like.
[0016] The device 11 also includes a pair of actuators 22 removably
mounted to opposite sides of the housing 25. Each actuator 22
includes a watertight casing 23, and at least one motor 28 which is
electrically coupled to a battery 29 and on/off switch 30 through
electrical wires or connectors 31. Optionally, a multiprocessor may
be included to cause a delay, sequencing, power variation, remote
control, or reversing of the power from the battery to the
motor(s). Also, the wiring 31 may include a charging port adapted
to receiving the end of a charger to recharge the battery 29.
[0017] The preferred embodiment shown in FIG. 1 includes two motors
28 on each actuator 22, a top motor 28' for driving the movement of
the wings and a bottom motor 28'' for driving the movement of the
feet, as described in more detail hereinafter. However, it should
be understood that as an alternative embodiment, the actuator may
include only a single motor for driving either the wings or the
feet. For clarity, the following description is with regard to the
preferred embodiment of FIG. 1.
[0018] Each motor 28' and 28'' includes or is connected to a
rotating shaft, axle, socket or post 32 to which an animal
appendage 34 may be coupled. The bottom motor 28'' is shown coupled
to an appendage 34 in the form of a foot 35 mounted to the motor
shaft 32. The foot 35 is in the form of an elongated T-shaped
member having two oppositely disposed paddles or ends 37. The
actuation of the bottom motor 28'' causes the foot 35 to rotate,
thereby causing the duck to move through the water while creating a
splashing of the water to resemble an actual duck's movement.
[0019] The top motor 28' is shown coupled to an appendage 34 in the
form of a duck wing 36 hingedly or pivotally mounted to the casing
23 and mechanically coupled to the motor shaft 32. The wing may be
mounted to the shaft 32 through linkage extending between the shaft
32 and the wing 36. The linkage includes an elongated rod 38 having
a ball joint assembly 39 coupled to the wing to allow rotational
and articulated movement of the rod 38 relative to the wing 36. The
rod 38 is coupled to the shaft 32 through a flywheel 44 wherein the
connection point of the shaft is offset from the axis of the
shaft/flywheel to cause the rod to move vertically through
rotational movement of the shaft 32 and thereby the flywheel
44.
[0020] The actuation of the top motor 28' causes the decoy's wing
36 to move up and down, thereby causing the duck to have the
appearance of preening, drying of wings, or flight. With either
appendage, the motor(s) may be actuated to rotate M one direction
or rotate back and forth in opposite directions. The electric
circuit including the motors and battery may also include motion
and sound sensors to initiate the actuation of the motors. A remote
control device (by radio control, bluetooth, or other wireless
protocol) may also be included to allow actuation of the motor,
independent actuation of each motor, to allow steering and
controlled movement of the decoy. Alternatively, the duck decoy or
device may include a tether which anchors the combination to the
bottom to allow limited range, the tether may be adjustable in
length.
[0021] Each actuator 22 is self contained and is removably mounted
to the housing 25 through a hand driven threaded bolt 40 extending
through a bolt hole 41 in the casing 23. The bolt 40 is threaded
into a corresponding internally threaded bolt hole 42 in the
housing 25.
[0022] In use, the motion attachment device 11 is mounted to a
decoy 10 by extending the decoy's keel 21 through the slot 26 of
the device and actuating the clamping device 27 to secure the
device 11 to the decoy 10. With the device 11 secured in place the
combination decoy and device may be place on land or in the water
to resemble a real animal which the decoy is imitating.
[0023] The on/off switch 30 is then actuated to that the battery 29
energizes the motor(s), which in turn actuates the appendage 34
coupled to the motor(s). The motion attachment device 11 may be
operated to cause the decoy 10 to move forward, backwards, spin,
rotate, flutter the wings, splash the water, move the feet, bob the
head, or raise the wings. The operation of the bottom motor 28'
causes the foot 35 to rotate resulting in the paddled movement of
the decoy. Similarly, the operation of the top motor 28'' causes
the linkage rod 38 to reciprocate resulting in the "flapping" or
movement of the wings 36. The decoy may be coupled to legs or a
stand so that it may be utilized on land with the motors actuating
the wings.
[0024] If one wished, the actuators 22 could be removed or switch
with other actuators 22 to provide for easy replacement of the
actuator or to provide a different appendage characteristic
associated with an actuator in a quick and easy fashion, i.e., a
different arrangement of motors and/or appendages. To accomplish
this, the threaded bolt 40 is simply unscrewed from the bolt hole
41 to release the actuator casing 23 from the housing 25.
[0025] The advantage of the present device is its ability to add
the device 11 to a pre-existing decoy 10 to enable a variety of new
motions to depict a more realistic appearance to the decoy. As
such, the device 11 may be added to different decoys 10 at
different times, thereby enabling the hunter to avoid having to
purchase many different decoys to attract different species at
different times of the year or locations. For example, the device
11 may be utilized with a mallard duck. decoy at one time and with
a different pintail duck, goose, or other type or species of water
fowl decoy at a different time.
[0026] Another advantage of the present invention is the ability to
interchange, replace or switch different actuators in a quick and
easy fashion. For example, if one were to wish to switch from a
wing flapping actuator to a foot swimming actuation this can easily
be accomplished by unthreading the actuator bolt 40 from the bolt
hole 42 thereby removing the actuator from the housing 25 and
replacing it with a different actuator.
[0027] The decoy itself may also include a motorized mechanism
which when actuated expands the size or volume of the chest area or
uses an attached appendage in the form of a chest so as to simulate
the "puffing" or "showing" of an animal, such as the bellowing of a
turkey. This may be accomplished with a motor which pushes
outwardly upon plates that form the decoy chest.
[0028] A water pump or jet pump may also be included for additional
motion, spray feature, or propulsion of the decoy. Also, a
propeller or fan may be included to providing hovering
capabilities.
[0029] It thus is seen that a decoy is now provided which overcomes
problems associated with decoys of the prior art. While this
invention has been described in detail with particular references
to the preferred embodiments thereof, it should be understood that
many modifications, additions and deletions, in addition to those
expressly recited, may he made thereto without departure from the
spirit and scope of the invention.
* * * * *